I arrived in Paris on the 1st of May. May Day is a public holiday; the French equivalent of our Labour Day. I didn't see any maypoles but I did see loads of lily-of-the-valley (Convallaria majalis) posies. It's traditional on May Day to buy them for friends and family for good luck. There were stalls outside all the metro stations (raising money for the Red Cross) and lots of smaller vendors selling fragrant fresh lily-of-the-valley (adorable) and plastic flowers (not so adorable). Apparently May Day is the only day of the year that street stalls can operate without having to pay a tax to the local authorities. It's like our Daffodil Day but, as is just so darned typical of the French, a whole bunch more sophisticated. I wish I could grow lily-of-the-valley at home but sadly, like paeonies, these bulbous woodland perennials are definitely a southern charm.
Friday, May 1, 2009
Mayday!
I arrived in Paris on the 1st of May. May Day is a public holiday; the French equivalent of our Labour Day. I didn't see any maypoles but I did see loads of lily-of-the-valley (Convallaria majalis) posies. It's traditional on May Day to buy them for friends and family for good luck. There were stalls outside all the metro stations (raising money for the Red Cross) and lots of smaller vendors selling fragrant fresh lily-of-the-valley (adorable) and plastic flowers (not so adorable). Apparently May Day is the only day of the year that street stalls can operate without having to pay a tax to the local authorities. It's like our Daffodil Day but, as is just so darned typical of the French, a whole bunch more sophisticated. I wish I could grow lily-of-the-valley at home but sadly, like paeonies, these bulbous woodland perennials are definitely a southern charm.
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Maybe you like to know, that Lily of the valley is called Maigloeckchen in German. This means Mai=may, gloeckchen=bells. In the northern hemisphere they start to bloom in may, thus the name ;-)
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